Reclaiming Me in 2017

Reclaiming Me in 2017 {A New Year's Resolution} | Houston Moms Blog

Last November, I participated in a blogging challenge to write a post a day for thirty days in a row on my personal blog. It was indeed challenging, and painful at times, but also really fulfilling. Having to generate topics to write about for thirty consecutive posts forced me to think outside of my main genre of mommy blogging. Sure, I love writing about my kids, but expanding my mind beyond parenting sparked a desire for more. Thus…

2017 is the year I want to find myself.

I want to know who I am as an individual person, beyond my role as Grayson, Charlotte, and Nolan’s mother. Of course, the strands of motherhood are completely woven into the fabric of my life, and it would be totally impossible to separate myself from them completely. But, in the six years since I became a mother, I can barely manage a list of my loves and hobbies apart from my children. I’m ready to define who I am again, not by my parenting status, but by the issues and hobbies that I’m passionate about.

My Goals for 2017

Stop Basing My Worth as a Person on My Kids

How often does the behavior of my children set the tone for my attitude about myself? No matter what my children accomplish or learn, or how wonderfully or badly they behave, it’s not a reflection on me as a person of worth. My children are who they are, apart from me.

Read More Books and Blogs on Topics Other Than Parenting

At this point in my parenting journey, I’ve read more opinions and advice than I could ever actually implement on getting kids to sleep, eat, and use the toilet. Sure, it’s always good to be informed, but for me, reading too much parenting advice leaves me frustrated and out of touch with the rest of the world. In 2017, I’m going to challenge myself to expand my mind and perspectives by reading material on politics, social justice, and religion.

Bravely Start Hard Conversations

2016 was a year of controversy and one where many hard issues were brought to the surface. While I don’t think it’s healthy to argue just for the sake of arguing, I do believe talking through tough topics with friends and family helps us grow as people, and also as parents.

Write More on Non-Parenting Topics

It’s fun to post about the latest milestones my toddler is hitting or the fun time we have at the zoo, but for the most part, I’m over the show-and-tell version of mommy blogging. On my personal blog, I want to write more about my faith journey, my struggle with the injustices I see in the world, and the lessons I’m learning from my personal relationships.

New Year’s resolutions are easy to make, but difficult to keep. With three busy young kids, I know it will be quite easy to fall right back into the trap of making my entire life about their lives. I hope that by focusing on the broad goal of reclaiming my identity apart from my children, I can make meaningful changes beyond the first few weeks of January.

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Elizabeth Baker
Elizabeth was raised in Houston and met her husband Ryan shortly after graduating from Texas A&M with a journalism degree. A few years later, Grayson {Sept 2010}, turned Elizabeth’s world upside down, not only with his sparkling blue eyes and killer smile, but with his profound disabilities and diagnosis of Mitochondrial Disease. After two years of navigating the world of special needs parenting, Elizabeth and Ryan were blessed with Charlotte {Jan 2013} and Nolan {Sept 2015}, perfectly completing their party of five. Elizabeth and her crew live in Katy, and when she can steal a few moments for herself, she can be found out for Mexican food and margaritas with girlfriends, binge-listening to podcasts and audiobooks, or trying once again {unsuccessfully} to organize her closet. In addition to her role as Managing Editor of HMB, Elizabeth writes about faith, politics and special needs parenting for publications like Scary Mommy and HuffPost.You can connect with Elizabeth on Facebook,Twitter, Instagram, or ElizabethKBaker.com

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